Sprinkler-head



G. G! LILJEGREPL SPRH-JKLER HEAD; APPLHIATIO N FILED FEB 24, I920.

Patented Apr 25, 1921.

UNITED STATES rarest caries.

GUINNAR 0. LILJEGREN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE VIKING CORPORA- 'IION, OF HASTINGS, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

SPRINKLER-HEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 26, rear.

Application filed February 24, 1920. Serial No. 360,611.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GUNNAR O. LILJE- GREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sprinkler- I-Ieads, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sprinkler-heads for that class of automatic fire-extinguishers in which a stream of water is re leased by the action of heat, it being understood that my sprinkler-head may be used either in the so-called dry pipe system to first release the air under pressure in the pipes and then sprinkle the water, or in the so-called wet pipe system to immediately release and sprinkle the water.

In this class of devices the valve is usually held in its seat against the pressure of the fluid in the pipe by a separable strut which is either a straight strut or a side strut; in the case of the side strut its parts are held against separation by a fusible link whose parts are put under tension by the strut and separate under the strain of the pressure on the strut when the heat or fire fuses V the bonding element of the link, and in the case of the straight strut the parts of the strut itself are soldered together and are under compression by the fluid pressureand separate when its solder is fused. One of the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improved resistance piece comprising two duplicate plates having angular webs which when the plates are united with one pair of their faces opposed interlock I to resist separation of the plates by tension whereby the unit forms the tension link for a side strut, and when the plates are united with the other pair of their faces opposed interlock to resist separation of the plates by compression whereby the unit forms the compression or straight strut for direct support of the valve.

Another object of my invention is to provide struts that have a greater co-eflicient of expansion than that of the frame to quickly increase the load or strain on the bonding element or solder at the time the device is called upon to operate. Other objects are to reduce the soldering required to unite the plates, and the friction or resistance when the plates separate.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described and then pointed out inthe claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevatlon of a sprinkler head embodying the features of my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the edge-solder being omitted for 'elearness of illustration of other parts; Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view showmg a modified resistance device as a straight strut in position directly between the valve and frame;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the plates of Flg. 2 separated to show their inner faces;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of parts of Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale, and

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the same parts with the tongues omitted.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 denotes the nozzle of a sprinkler-head provided with a screw-thread 11 by which it is connected with a distributing pipe leading to a source of water supply under pressure, 12 a valve for closing the nozzle against the fluid pressure therein. and 13 a yoke or frame having the usual water diffuser or distributing plate 14 connected to its upper end by an adjustable screw 15 which projects through the yoke in the axial line of the nozzle. 'lfhe parts so far described are of usual construction.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the valve is held in its seat against the pressure in the nozzle by a side-strut composed of a pair of co-acting angular lever arms 16 directly held in its seat against the pressure by a fusible resistance piece composed of the two plates 19 and 20, and in this embodiment the resistance piece acts as a compression-resisting strut.

The plates are duplicates, each being rectangular in outline and provided at one end with an open slot 21 extending inwardly from its margin or edge, and near its opposite end with a hole 22 which when the unit is used with the levers 16 and 17 receives the hooked end of one of these levers, as will be understood by reference to Figs. 1 and 2. In making the plates, which are usually stamped out of metal, the slot 21 is preferably made somewhat deeper and wider than the hole 22, and the material cut from the latter maybe entirely removed as shown in Fig. 6, or it may be bent at its inner margin toward that side of the plate that becomes its inner face when the plates are assembled to form an overhanging tongue 23, and when the tongue is employed I prefer to make it in the arcuate form shown in Figs. t and 5 as this affords a convenient anchorage for part of the solder employed to unite the plates. A transverse angular web 24 is formed in the central portion of each plate at an obtuse angle to theupper and lower portions, which thereby are ofiset laterally in parallel vertical planes as shown. Each plate may also be pressed or swaged to form concave recesses 25 in the inner face of its angular web 24, there being preferably two such recesses in each web, and the recesses in the two plates forming a resistance piece are arranged opposite each other to form seats for the balls 26 which lie in the recesses when the two plates are assembled. The offsetting of the top and bottom portions of the plates produces better results than can be obtained by making these portions in the same plane, as the angular webs thus formed provide bearings or seats for the balls which are more extended than the mere thickness or edge of the plate itself and are in planes oblique to the line of the link, and thus increase the resistance or strength of the link during normal conditions, while when fusion occurs the angularity of the abutting webs increases the extent of the initial separation of the plates, and thus more quickly throws them away from each other.

In making up or assembling a tension resistance piece of the character shown in Figs. 1,2 and 5, two of the plates are placed in the relation there shown, being reversed end for end with the tongue 23 of each plate passing through the open slot 21 of the other, and with the web of theupper plate underlying that of the lower plate, and they are then joined or united by solder along thelr outer edges as shown at 27 and by solder blocks under the projecting ends of the tongues as shown at 28. In practice each plate preferably is provided on its inner face with a thin film of solder (not shown), and these films are fused by sweating to unite the opposed surfaces of the plates and the plates then are soldered at their edges and under the tongues.

In assembling a tension resistance piece of the character shown in Fig. 6, a pair of plates are placed in the relation there shown, being reversed end for end with the hole 22 of each in register with the slot 21 of the other, and with the web of the upper plate underlying that of the lower plate, and they are soldered on their inner faces and along their edges as before, and with solder blocks 28 in the bases of the slots 21 and along their sides to contact with the portions of the inner face of the opposite plate that are exposed through these slots, which as before stated are larger than the holes 22.

In the forms shown in Figs. ,5 and 6 the solder holds the plates against lateral movement, the solder blocks 28 being useful as they prevent the cold flow of the other solder under the strain exerted by the pressure of the fluid in the nozzle, and as the web 24 of the upper plate 20 is under the web of the lower plate 19 these webs are so related that they oppose each other underthe tension to which the plates are subjected by the pull of the strut and so interlock to prevent any relative longitudinal movement of either plate until the solder is fused; the unit withstands the tension of the side strut. When the solder is melted by the flame or heat, the tension or pull of the levers on the plates causes them to move longitudinally of each other in opposite directions, and the inclined surfaces of the webs ride on each other or on the balls (as the case may be) and the resulting cam-action exerts a lateral force to throw the plates apart; they are quickly separated and allow the automatic sprinkler to which the head is connected to operate.

In making up or assembling a tension resistance piece of the character shownin Figs. 5 and 6, the web of the upper plate 20 underlies the web of the lower plate 19, but

in making up a compression resistance piece of the character shown in Fig. 3 the web of the upper plate 20 overlies the web of the lower plate. 'The plates of the compression unit are assembled as shown in Fig; 3, with their opposite sides facing inwardly and being reversed end for end with the liole 22 of each in register with the slot 21 of the 7 other, and with the balls in place or omitted, and they are soldered on their inner faces and along their edges as before, and with solder blocks 28 inthe bases of the slots 21 and along their sides to contact with the portions of the inner face of the opposite plate that are exposed through these slots, and passing as keys through the holes 22.

In the formshown in Fig. 3 the solder holds the plates against lateral movement, and as the web 24: of the upper plate overlies that of the lower plate the lower portion of the latter plate and the upper portion of the former plate are in alinement to form a straight strut, and the webs oppose each other under the compression to which the plates are subjected by the fluid pressure and so interlock to prevent any relative longitudinal movement of either plate until the solder is fused. The unit withstands the pressure as a compression strut, and when the solder is melted the compression on the plates causes them to move longitudinally of each other in opposite directions, and the inclined surfaces of the webs ride on each other or on the balls (as the casemay be) to cam the plates apart laterally.

In the embodiments shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the resistancepiece acts on the principle of the well-known tension link, and in the embodiment shown in Fig. 3 it acts on the principle of the well-known compression strut. In each case the strain exerted by the fluid pressure is resisted by the opposing webs which interlock to prevent longitudinal displacement of the plates until the solder is fused, and when this fusion occurs the plates move longitudinally upon each other in opposite directions, the plates under tension being pulled apart while those under compression are pushed apart, and the opposite inclinations of the co-acting webs separate the plates laterally.

The balls are useful to aid in this action as by laterally moving the plates they eliminate all scraping or sliding friction between the plates when their separation occurs, and they may be used to advantage in the form shown in Fig. 5, as then when the plates separate their only cont-acting sur-' faces are between the inner ends of the tongues and the bases of the opposite slots, thus reducing the scraping or sliding contact of the plates to these two locations. In such case I am able to utilize the tongues to form anchors for the solder blocks 28 which prevent the cold flow of the other solder that might otherwise occur, as above noted, and also reduce to these two points the contact or scraping friction between the plates when they separate.

I prefer in practice to construct the strut of a metal that is more rapidly expansive under heat than is the metal of the frame, as this increases the load or strain on the solder at the time the device is called upon to operate and hastens the release of the water. In practice the frame is usually made of phosphor-bronze, or some metal of equivalent expansion, and for the purpose of securing a relatively quicker expansion of the strut I construct it of a metal which while it has sufficient strength to resist the strain put upon it by the fluid pressure, also has an increased co-efficient of expansion' For this purpose I prefer to construct the strut of any well known alloy metal having suflicient strength to provide an ample margin or factor of safety above the maximum strain that is put upon the strut, and at the same time its coefficient of expansion is so much greater than that of the metal of the frame that when the head is subjected to heat the increased expansive property or quality of the strut causes it to exert an increased load or strain on the solder as the latter begins to fuse under the action of the heat. In the construction shown in Fig. 1,

'I make the levers of the strut of this more rapidly expansive metal, and in the construction shown in Fig. 8 the plates 19 and 20 are made of it; in the former construction the levers form the strut under tension, and in the latter construction the plates form the strut under compression, and in each instance the increased expansive action of the strut quickens the disruption of the fusible material and the consequent disintegration of the strut itself, and so hastens the release of the water.

I claim:

1. A fusible link consisting of a pair of duplicate plates united by fusible material, each plate having a hole near one end and an oblique transverse web at its center to offset its upper and lower portions in parallel planes, the webs abutting when the plates are assembled, opposite recesses in the webs forming seats in planes oblique to the line of the link, and balls in the seats.

2. A fusible link for connecting the members of a strut and consisting of a pair of duplicate plates united by fusible material, each plate having a marginal slot at the central portion of one of its ends, a hole near its other end and a central arcuate tongue extending from the inner end of its hole through the slot of the companion plate to provide anchors for solder blocks, the upper and lower portions of each plate being offset .and connected by an oblique transverse web at its center which abuts with the opposed web when the plates are assembled, recesses in the oblique webs forming seats, and balls in the seats.

In testimony whereof I have hereto subscribed my name this 17th day of February, A. D. 1920.

GUNNAR O. LILJEGREN.

Witnesses:

HARRY S. HARNED, J. MoRoBERTs. 

